We’ve got eight awesome games on the NBA slate today as there is a full day's worth of basketball. The Raptors host the Nets in the first game of the day at 3:30 p.m. ET, and the Clippers host the Hornets in the late night game starting at 9 p.m. ET.
Brandon Anderson and Roberto Arguello have their sights set on the Spurs vs. Thunder and Hornets vs. Clippers games, and you can find their best bets below.
NBA Odds & Picks
Spurs @ Thunder
Brandon Anderson: Stop me if you've heard this one before, but we are underrating the Spurs again.
Sure, San Antonio is only 3-6, but the Spurs feel more average than bad. They're top-10 in Defensive Rating, per Basketball Reference, and 14th overall with a positive Net Rating.
They lost to the Mavs twice by just six points combined. They lost in overtime to the Lakers. They lost to the Bucks and Nuggets. Their two games with the widest margin of difference were both wins.
San Antonio's 3-6 record is not indicative of a bad team, just one with a tough schedule so far. Dejounte Murray has quietly had a breakout start to the season, and Derrick White and Keldon Johnson show up each night. Jakob Poeltl is probably out again, and he's a loss in the middle, but not enough of one to worry me in this matchup against a bad Oklahoma City squad.
The Thunder are 2-0 against the Lakers but 0-and-everything against everybody else, and they needed huge comebacks in both of those LA wins too. Oklahoma City has losses by 12, 21, 21, and 33, and the offense is ranked second to last in the NBA. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled carrying the load on his own and just isn't getting much help.
Gregg Popovich's teams have made a living for years beating up on the bad teams, and the Thunder are bad. I trust the Spurs defense to get the job done on the road. I'll play the Spurs to -5.
Hornets vs. Clippers
Roberto Arguello: The Clippers started the season 1-4, but they have found their footing this week as they have won three straight games. Paul George is playing at an MVP level, and the defense has been strong, even without Kawhi Leonard.
Per Cleaning The Glass, the Clippers rank second in the NBA in Defensive Rating at 101.2 (excluding garbage time), and they will face a challenge Sunday night against the Hornets offense that ranks sixth in Offensive Efficiency (112.7).
The Clippers’ offense hasn’t been special as they rank 21st in Offensive Rating (105.2), but they should get a boost against a poor Hornets defense that ranks second worst with a 114.3 Defensive Rating.
The Clippers’s offense has been underwhelming so far because they attempt a high volume of 3s but haven’t been connecting on them as efficiently as they did last season. The Clippers shot 41.8% from beyond the arc last year as they led the league in 3-point accuracy, but they are down to 34.6% from beyond the arc (16th this year).
When their 3s are falling, this team has won and won big this year, and I’ll count on some regression tonight against Charlotte’s poor defense that allows opponents to shoot the fourth most 3s (41.6% of opponent shots). I'll play the Clippers down to -7.
